AFTER THE OUTING
Give the Engine Compartment a General Inspection
Look for signs of leaks or anything abnormal. It’s a simple thing,
but often the simplest, quick look can pinpoint an issue before it
becomes a problem.
Check the Other Components
This is a common sense approach. If you’ve been boating in dirty
water, cleaning out the sea strainer now instead of waiting until the
debris inside it has dried (and therefore become more difficult to
remove) makes sense. You want to check the rudder, propeller, and
driveshaft to make sure they appear intact, too, especially if you
suspect that you may have struck something submerged during the
outing. These are easy checks after the boat has been loaded on the
trailer and removed from the water.
Check anything else on the boat that did not function as expected
during the outing and seek assistance from your authorized Malibu
dealer about any concerns and issues prior to the next outing.
Note How Much Fuel and Battery Charge Were Used
Malibu recommends keeping a chart or binder with information
from your outing. If you note the conditions during the outing, the
length of time, and the final readings, you’ll have a much better
idea of normal operations. That gives you the clues you need when
readings are different, or you are anticipating an outing that will be
different and you need to prepare for those conditions.
Give the Boat a Good General Cleaning
(Outlined in the Ongoing Care information that precedes this section)
As noted earlier, ongoing care is important. Read that section to
determine the normal expectations regarding routine care. Read the
Saltwater Series Maintenance information that appears earlier in
this chapter. Even boating in “clean” water, you add protection and
quality care for your boat by following the cleaning requirements.
The same components that need added protection from salt/
brackish water will also retain their luster and live longer if the
same attention is applied to them.
AFTER 10 HOURS ON THE HOURMETER
HAVE THE ENGINE OIL CHANGED BY AN
AUTHORIZED MALIBU DEALER
Do not do your first oil change before 10 hours or later than 15
hours.
The boat must be returned to an authorized Malibu dealer for
the first service/scheduled maintenance. The purpose is to allow a
trained technician to interpret any signs of malfunction or anomaly
that may have occurred. Catching these symptoms early is critical
to avoiding potentially damaging events that might not be covered
under warranty.
The dealer will change oil, transmission fluid, inspect the cooling
fluid, clean the sea strainer, inspect the air filter, check the heat
exchanger, and perform an alignment check on the engine among
a variety of checks and inspections that will yield diagnostic clues
to how well the engine and drive train are performing during the
break-in period.
Care and Maintenance—143
